Crossing Paths
by QueenOfThePrideLands
Summary: Kind of an AU, kind of just a fanfiction that retells the theory of how Scar became evil. This story will trace my new theory from it's origin — Scar being found before he is even Scar (When he is just an innocent orphan) *Subject to change*
1. Chapter 1

_**So the producer of The Lion King said that Mufasa* and Scar weren't really brothers, which surprises me because I thought they were at least half brothers. I can't say I didn't see this coming because that would explain why Zira was so angry with Kovu because she believed he was the cause of Nuka's death, when shouldn't she be glad because Scar "killed his brother Mufasa"? Why wasn't she? Because they aren't brothers! It's time to rethink the past, which is the opposite of putting your past behind you, sorry Timon and Pumbaa. In this Universe, Simba goes crazy and these guys are hallucinations.**_

 _ **Prologue**_

* * *

Just as the sun had begun to rise, two pairs of round crimson eyes illuminated the darkness concealing the Royal Den of Pride Rock, and soft rays of light emitted from the slowly rising sun.

Two lions emerged from the royal den, seeing that both of their eyes weren't deceiving them — they watched the sun rise over the distant mountain silhouette. As it did, the sky quickly turned a radiant blood red — just like the eyes of them, and every other lion in the Ndona Pride.

Watching the sunrise was truly a sight to behold, and the lions of the Pride Lands had the opportunity to have the most pleasing view of the lands from Pride Rock's hindquarters. Watching the sunrise was something that the king always looked forward to, and watching it with his son now made it even more enjoyable. Like his father, Mufasa loved to watch the sun rise and set, but he especially enjoyed seeing the sun rise up into the sky again.

According to the wise old mjuzi, everyday one wakes is a day to rejoice; one shall welcome each and everyday with a smile because everyday is different — no two days are alike, but can be similar. Because of this, the king and his son like to greet the each new day once they were roused from their slumber; they were always the first to wake up in the morning to see a new day when the continuance of life was not promised. And that was why Mufasa always woke up early to see the sun rise again: because a new day has begun.

The prince, who was fortunately the first to wake on the day that will be different from any other, was named Mufasa. Mufasa mirrored his father, Mbube, in appearance; his rich golden fur was a lot like his father's. Only Mbube's fur was slightly darker.

As Mufasa's age to adulthood progressed, Mbube promised his son that he would look even more like him, since Mufasa's mother's fur was hardly any different. Mufasa looked like the perfect mix of his parents, and his genes was what made him fit to be next ruler. That was a decision that Mbube made at the time of Mufasa's birth — choosing a heir was a decision that couldn't be revoked.

Mufasa knew that on the day that his father woke him: would be the day when his father takes him to the summit of Pride Rock. Mufasa still wanted to act surprised.

He knew his father was trying his best to be discrete about where he was taking Mufasa, but unfortunately the prince overheard his father telling his mother. His mother, Safiya, never been on the summit despite being the Queen of Pride Rock.

Pride Rock's Summit was a place solely reserved for the lineage of kings of the Ndona Pride's Past.

And it had to have been a place unlike anywhere Mufasa had ever been for it to be so special — and so it was.

It was very high; even higher than Pride Rock. A drop from Pride Rocks' summit that Mufasa stood upon would surely be deadly. Instinctively, the prince stayed away from the edge, and dreaded having to watch his father fall to his death as Mbube stood there looking over the edge. He relaxed when his father finally sat back, falling onto his hunches in a proud stance. "Son, come and sit beside me," Mufasa always obeyed his father; he listened and crept over to his father's right side and sat down. The two, father and son, sat there looking at the beautiful view of the blazing yellow sun rising over the edge of the distant mountain silhouette.

The vibrancy of the sight to behold made Mufasa not help but smile as his father reminded him of his destiny — to be king and rule the land once he's gone. The cub had to remember what this meant, that his father would die, giving him all the reason to not want to be king.

"But daaaaaad, I.. I don't wanna be king." Mufasa wailed in frustration. Mbube sighed. Time after time had they had this same conversation, but Mufasa couldn't seem to stop reminding his father of this, like he was expecting Mbube to just change his one day and say, "You don't have to be king then." But rest assured, Mbube was sure Mufasa had to have known by now that he couldn't run from his destiny. He would be haunted with thoughts, reminded by the great spirit through the voice and illusion of a lion that he missed. He would have dreams, nightmares of the event that lead to his downfall.

"Mufasa, what did I tell you about telling me that you don't want to be king? That is your birthright.." As Mbube said this, Mufasa nodded his head in shame and sad "I know.."

Mbube softened, resting a paw over his son's shivering shoulders.

"Son, I know you don't like the thought of responsibility, but following yours is important." Said Mbube in the most calm voice that he could muster despite his loss of patience with his son's impatient hospitality. "Dad, can't kings make up their own rules?" Mufasa inquired, "because then, I would have my way all the time."

"Son there is so much more to being king than that." Mbube purred, unable to ignore the adorably consistent things that he and his son had in common. He now had to tell Mufasa something that his father told him: about his father's belief, including the circle of life. With the circle of life being what keeps life in the Pride Lands peaceful and in balance, there would be rain, and a dry season in the place of a season-worth of droughts.

"Dad, when I'm king can I get everyone to follow my Grandfather's law?" Asked Mufasa, now interested in the lecture. He was already looking forward to his time as ruler.

"Of course, and you can encourage your son to as well." Promised Mbube. "Remember that as long as the Great Circle of Life is respected, we have the guidance of the Great Kings of the Past. They lead us."

Mufasa bounded after his father, who moved a lot quicker than he did. The large cub easily fell into step with his father, matching the speed of which his paws touched the grassland they were walking on. His tail was held high in Pride to be in the presence of his father — king of Pride Rock. Mbube glanced over his shoulder at his son, who walked beside his father walking gracefully as the proud leader he was to be. Once he's learned all that Mbube knew, the lion king would die in peace knowing that his son was ready.…

Zazu saw Safiya and the other lionesses inspecting something in the field. Something very significant had the attention of all the lions in the Pride Lands, aside from the king who was away with his son; every single one of them had forgotten the buffalo abandoned half a mile away. Any passing leopard would seize the chance for enough meat to last a week. Every lion was interested in what the queen had found in her path. Zazu glided over her, when looking down he saw what appeared to be a brown cub, about Mufasa's age lying motionlessly in the grass. He needed to take a closer look so he made a swift turn and slowly descended from the sky, landing lightly on his feet.

"He's alive." Zazu looked at the queen and then at the cub. He had never seen a cub that looked like that. This cub had to of been from another Pride. Everything about him was different. His fur was very dark, like a crimson sky or an orange leaf, tanned by the sunlight.

"Zazu, tell Mbube! He's got to come here!" Said Safiya.

"Yes, Madame. I will alert the king at once!" Zazu said, taking off without a moment to lose. Safiya needed the king's assistance in case it were all a trap. She thought, Why would a mother of any kind just give their cub to some strange Pride?


	2. Chapter 2

**I think I like the idea of Taka being adopted into the Pride. I think how he is in the movie reflects his life as a cub, and Simba is affected in the way that Scar was. Chapter Two should shed some light on Scar's past.**

 **Chapter One**

Mbube and his son just returned to Pride Rock.

He succeeded in his plan to persuade Mufasa to want to be king: what he could look forward to; he told him that everything the light touched would be his. Mufasa was also told by his father that he would marry a beautiful lioness. But Mufasa just couldn't understand how everything the light touched was his. Surely the land beyond our boulders receives sunlight? Sensing the boy's confusion, Mbube said: "Metaphorically speaking, everything that you can see from the top of Pride Rock's summit is yours, because the summit gives the king a full view of His Majesty's kingdom."

"Oh," Mufasa said, slowly understanding what his father had conveyed to him.

"Listen son, as the sun rises and sets, the day draws near when your time as ruler comes. It's important for me to tell you these things, and I don't expect you to remember them just yet. But I hope that I will be here to see you grow up to be the strongest, wisest, bravest and fiercest lion in the Pride Lands — as I am."

Fascinated, Mufasa smiled up at the king, who was also his dad with pure admiration. Mufasa absolutely marveled the thought of one day becoming just like his father — one powerful ruler that hyenas feared. His father believed in living each and every day as it were the last, because the time to join the Great Spirits of The Lions of The Past was unknown. So the king raised Mufasa to believe that the future is what you make of it.

"Never ignore a chance to seize the opportunity to do what is best," Mufasa heard his father say for a sixteenth time; which seemed like a lot since it was enough to make the prince remember it.

* * *

Zazu spotted the king pacing in front of Pride Rock's entryway. As he slowly shifted his beak down, he glided downward at an angle; the winds were so strong that they pulled and carried Zazu along. Zazu felt fortunate that he could relax his sore wings until it was time to make a safe landing on the aging stone. His eyes closed and he crashed at the king's heels.

"Zazu, tell me why were you in such a hurry to speak with me during urgent matters?" Mbube asked.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry, Sire. I did not mean to intervene on your educational discussion, but it's an emergency." The bird did not show a bit of amusement, giving Mbube all the more reason to believe him.

"Fire away!" Mbube boomed, which meant to state his purpose of.

"No time now, Sire. We must get back to the lionesses this instance. They could be in danger!"

"Watch Mufasa!" Mbube ordered. As much as he could have used Zazu's help to find his lionesses sooner, in case they made a retreat, he just couldn't put his son in any dangerous predicament. He didn't know what he could be up against. A rogue perhaps a Pride of them, or a clan of hyenas? Mbube was heavy on his feet, ignoring the cramp that began to take place in his abdomen as he pushed himself forward, gliding over the steep slopes of hills rather than running around them. He did not slow down until he had plain sight of the lionesses. He sensed their fear. Things weren't as he expected — a war between his Pride or intruders. Nonetheless there was a reason why Zazu was so anxious, and a good reason for him to interrupt the final moments of the conclusion of their discussion, without knowing how far into the talk that he was with his son.

* * *

Like his father would, Mufasa paced Pride Rock's entryway in frustration. Bitter anger paused through the cub's tiny body. Zazu hardly wanted to say anything, and risk being pounced on by the oversized prince. Mufasa was almost his father's size, when he was not even close to being an adolescent. And the juvenile must had let his size get over his head. His father still did not believe, no matter how big he had gotten, that Mufasa had no business accompanying him on his missions. But Mufasa just wanted to see his father spring into action and help him to fight off the bad guys, and save the day.

Mufasa stopped pacing. He was sitting down staring down at his paws. The cub looked like he was thinking really hard about something. "Young Master, do not beat yourself up. Your father just doesn't want you to get hurt. One day he will need your help to avenge vengeance, and keep your land under your power until your time is up." Zazu's wise words gave Mufasa some hope.

Instead of thinking more about the action that he had to miss out on, Mufasa had his mind set to thinking of the future again — of his reign that would hopefully take place a long time from now. He slowly padded up the slightly rising slope of Pride Rock, and looked over the edge in awe. He remembered his father telling him that everything that the light touched would be his. Despite that obviously only being partially true, Mufasa believed him. Amazed by his father's knowledge of the family's lineage also amazed him, and he couldn't wait to learn more about the Great Kings of the Past. He wanted to learn who they all were and what they had done to become great. Mbube promised his son that he would soon know all that there was to know about being king. "I can't wait until dad comes back. Maybe then he'll teach me more about how to be king." Said Mufasa.

"Now, Mufasa, it is essential to wait. Patience is a virtue and your father did leave me in charge of you, so let's preoccupy ourselves with a safe and fun task to pass time. I am happy to see you are now thrilled, ready to take on your role." Zazu said with a smile, flipping the subject.

Mufasa looked surprised. Then he remembered how obvious he made it that he did not want to be king. "Oh yeah? Because when I'm king, I make the rules. You work for me."

"Not yet I don't, and as my mother always says, a prince with an attitude like that will turn out to be a pretty pathetic king indeed," Zazu muttered to himself.

"That's not the way I see it!"

"Well you should. Being king is no fun and games, young master. You must take this role with dignity and pride." Stated the hornbill proud and formally, as if he were taking on the role himself.

Mufasa, bored with Zazu's boring smart-talk, slipped away from his sitter, and scampered back up Pride Rock. The cub peered over the edge, scanning the clearings in plain sight that he could see from up there. "What's taking them so long?" He asked. He turned back around, reassuming the spot in front of Zazu. The bird had not even noticed the cub had gone he was so concentrated on conveying his belief to Mufasa.

Patience may be a virtue, but Mufasa was tired of waiting.

* * *

"Oh wait, I think I see them!" Mufasa cried.

Sure enough, lions were approaching by the numbers. And as these lions were nearing the king's fortress, Mufasa recognized the faces and scent of his pride members. Only, they weren't speaking. And in their eyes, Mufasa saw nothing but dread. Mufasa cocked his head to one side, wanting to ask what was going on. His mother, Safiya was padding beside Mbube, and they were the first to ascend Pride Rock's entryway. They had walked past Mufasa without even acknowledging him. Mufasa felt a little crestfallen. Then, drawn only by his curiosity, Mufasa bounded inside of the den. His mother was sitting on the dais beside the king. Mufasa, followed by the rest of his Pride, had gone inside to investigate, and Mufasa was shocked to find that what was retrieved from the day's hunt was a lion cub.

"Ewwww-gross, are we going to eat him?" Mufasa asked.

His mother and father chuckled.

"No," Safiya replied to her son. "Mufasa, meet your new brother — Taka."

Mufasa inspected the sleeping cub, and lied down next to him. He didn't realize that this was how cubs were born — a single thought while looking up at the Great Kings of the Past, granting him the opportunity to have a sibling.

"Don't worry, Taka. We're brothers and we'll always be there for each other." _My dad told me not to tell anyone, but I think I want to tell you everything about how to be king, because who knows, maybe we'll both be king one day._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two**

The orange cub blinked open his eyes. Unfamiliar scents surrounded him, and an uneasy feeling prickled his spine. Sunlight was filtering through the entrance of the den that he was lying in. In the den there were several lionesses lying idly about, watching him wake up. One of them was a golden lioness with blazing red eyes. Her eyes looked like two small little flames, ready to spread. He observed that none of the lionesses looked like the ones from back home. They all had either beige or golden fur, equipped with auburn or red eyes and faces that presented friendliness — nothing like the Pride that he came from.

"You're awake." The lioness' voice was soft and motherly, and she walked over to where the strange cub was laying. The lion cub was noticeably younger than Mufasa, and thinner, making it all the more harder for her to tell what age he was. She guessed four moons. "My name is Queen Safiya. Tell me, little one, where did you come from?"

"I don't know what my pride was called," lied the cub. He knew that he couldn't go back to his home, not after he caused his mother to die. His father had banished him, forcing him to live on his own, knowing that he wouldn't be able to survive for very long.

"Do you have a name?" Asked the queen.

"No, Madame." Replied the cub.

"I've decided on calling you Taka. Is that okay with you?" She went on and asked comfortably, now knowing that he didn't have a name. He had a name: Scar. His father named him and his brothers accordingly to his name — Claw. Scar's siblings, Cut and Scratch, helped their father in banishing their brother who was deemed responsible for the death of a family member. Scar decided to lie about his identity to cover his tracks, and he was to never reveal his past to his new family.

"Taka means desire. If the shoe fits, I suppose I would desire a place to reside. I've come a long way after my father killed my mother and tried to kill me. I was fortunate to escape and ran for miles until I couldn't run anymore." Although that wasn't exactly what happened, Taka believed that that was an acceptable story to tell this strange Pride who willingly took in a rogue cub. The queen basically adopted him.

* * *

Mufasa didn't understand the point of his hunting lessons. After all, only the lionesses do the hunting. But his father insisted that hunting was beneficial for him as well.

Hunting was an energy drainer. Their were always more failures than successes. One would be lucky to survive a hunt for beasts — like an elephant or a wildebeest. Sometimes, Mbube gave his son feedback on his skills thus far, promising him that he will excel his performance, and become the best male hunter on the prairie.

When Mufasa's legs were too sore to attempt again, Mbube said that the day's training was over. Mufasa was disappointed that he wasn't able to catch a single morsel this time.

He returned to Pride Rock with his head down. He felt like he hadn't met his father's expectations, and only disappointed him. Mbube noticed the long face he son gave, and suppressed a sigh.

"Son, you did well today. You are an agile stalker and your pouncing skills are incredible." He reassured his son. As he ascended the entryway of his throne, he noticed Zazu consulting with the queen. He cued his son to practice his moves on Zazu. Mufasa read his father's facial cues and reared up on the hornbill, oblivious to either presences of the king and the prince.

After his countdown was at zero from five, Mufasa sprang onto the bird. Zazu was immobilized by the cub's bottom, and when Mufasa stood up, Zazu was crushed but still alive. Mufasa laughed and crouched again and Zazu shook his head, conveying that he didn't want to be pounced on again. Mufasa took the initiative to stop practicing his pouncing on Zazu.

The prince left Pride Rock after his father told him that Taka had gone out to play. Mufasa did not know where Taka had went, so the only way to find him would be finding his scent. His adopted brother must have left the den, forgetting the ground rules set for minor cubs; cubs below adolescence are minors. Mufasa sniffed the air — above the scent of grass he smelled a nearby herd of elephants. He could tell it was elephants because of the strong smell of dung that clung to the bodies of the gray, horned beasts. Mufasa scrunched up his nose and tried to smell beyond that. He picked up nothing at first, then he smelled the smell of a lion that was more foreign than any other Pride member of his Pride.

Taka still did not have his Pride Landers' scent, so it was very obvious that this was Taka.

Mufasa followed the scent, tracing to a baobab tree. Taka sat at the tree, staring up at it as if he were expecting something to come out of the tree. With Taka's focus preoccupied on the tree, Mufasa could easily pursue his new "prey". Like he had before, Mufasa crouched down and stalked Taka as he would a mouse or something easy to catch. Taka sensed Mufasa coming even though the prince was quiet and agile. He darted to the side, and pounced on Mufasa. Not seeing it coming, the golden cub pulled himself out of Taka's grasp, yanking the smaller cub with him. Taka faced his opponent.

* * *

Mbube hadn't expected the cubs to run off. He sent out Zazu to retrieve them and escort them home. While this difficult search had a reward for if the cubs were found before sunset, it turned out that Zazu exceeded the king's expectations by leading him and his lionesses straight to the cubs immediately. Zazu claimed to have seen them on his way to Pride Rock after being asked to briefly scan the Pride Lands' perimeter. He knew they were going to Rafiki's baobab so that was the first place he went on the search.

Mbube and the whole Pride got to observe the fight between Taka and Mufasa. Taka was smaller than Mufasa, with a lot less muscle. Had they been litter mates, Taka would be the runt. Mufasa was obviously stronger that his opponent. Taka was defeated. Mufasa stood proudly over Taka as if he had just won a match — he had. What was a game became a tournament. The whole Pride was looking at them chanting Mufasa's name. Taka felt humiliated, like the shadow of his brother's success. He lost the battle to prove himself worthy of the king's applause. He wondered his adopted parents were ashamed of him.

Then the mandrill climbed out of the baobab tree. The same monkey that had hit him with a stick and ran away laughing like a maniac was the royal mjuzi — Rafiki.

"Mufasa, I knew you'd win da fight. You are Mbube's boy! You're descended from on-high, you have de same brute strength each of ya ancestors possess!" Rafiki looked at Taka, and said, "And you, you is at de shadow end of the gene pool, a simple commoner rogue indeed..."

Taka stopped listening.

A monkey who was supposed to be the wisest animal in the Pride Land's didn't mean Taka's intellectual expectations. What he had said was very foolish, considering the fact that he didn't even know Taka. Taka did what he believed was the best way to go about things: acting like nothing happened, and acting like Rafiki did not exist.

* * *

That night, Taka had trouble falling asleep.

He was living in another nightmare. He wouldn't be surprised if he was forced into exile again. No, Taka thought, sinisterly staring out of the royal den from the dais he lied upon. I will not be exiled again. I must be king someday.

Never before had Taka even thought about being in power, ruling a kingdom. He could just imagine being in his father's place. As king, Taka would have a new royal mjuzi, which had to be another species. That was undecided upon. All Taka knew was that the monkey couldn't be.

Taka thought with sheer bitterness, How dare he say that I am not royalty? I am now that I've been adopted, you blaspheming mandrill that doesn't exist!

Even though Taka chose to forget his old life, he couldn't forget what happened to his mother, which lead to his exile and his father's hate. His father only hated him because he was the runt of the litter — doomed, set for failure.

* * *

A dark-furred lioness clung to the breaking earth. The ground rumbled, making the dry earth crumble beneath her. Scar dug his claws into her arm and the lioness let out an agonized roar.

"Scar! Help me!" Cried the lioness as she fought to scramble up the cliff she was dangling helplessly from.

"Mom I can't hold on anymore!" Cried Scar. The cub was being pulled with her, unable to support her weight. By the time that Scar's father was retrieved, Scar let go. Not because he wanted his mother to die, like his father believed, but because she told him to. She knew that if he didn't let go, they would both needlessly die. But Scar's father refused to listen to his son, blaming and banishing his son.

Scar had run for days until he couldn't run anymore, and then he was found by the strange Pride who was so willing to take in a rogue cub.

Scar had a new identity: Taka — son of the king and queen, and brother of Mufasa.


End file.
